The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) today announced Ariel Pablos-Mendez as Child and Maternal Survival Coordinator, to focus on the goal of ending preventable child and maternal deaths. Katie Taylor, who has served as interim Coordinator, is named Deputy Coordinator.

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announced the $18.7 million Education Crisis Response program today to assist the Government of Liberia in restoring basic education in the Ebola-affected country and help return children to school safely. The program was announced today while Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf visited with staff from USAID.

The U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative, led by the U.S. Agency for International Development and implemented together with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), launched its next six-year strategy to further reduce malaria deaths and substantially decrease malaria illness, toward the long-term goal of elimination at the White House today.

U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Acting Assistant Administrator for Europe and Eurasia Susan Fritz will travel to Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia from February 20 - March 5. Acting Assistant Administrator Fritz's visit will include meetings with government officials, civil society, international partners, and USAID staff in these countries.

This Thursday, February 12, Dr. Rajiv Shah will deliver his final speech as Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) at an event hosted by the American Enterprise Institute and the Center for American Progress. For the past five years Administrator Shah has led USAID in its mission to end extreme poverty and promote resilient, democratic societies. During this time Administrator Shah has led key development initiatives, including Feed the Future, Power Africa, the U.S. Global Development Lab, and efforts to end preventable child and maternal deaths. Administrator Shah will discuss his tenure at USAID with John Norris of the Center for American Progress and Danielle Pletka of the American Enterprise Institute.

Innovations support current Ebola response and future epidemic preparedness

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announced today additional nominees for awards in the Fighting Ebola: a Grand Challenge for Development. A collaborative expert review identified 12 innovations that can reinforce the response to current and future Ebola outbreaks.

Our nation’s life-saving response to the worst Ebola epidemic in history represents an impressive display of American values, commitment, and ingenuity. Even as the headlines have slowed, the tireless work of thousands of frontline health care workers and disasters responders has not. In a year marked by an unprecedented number of humanitarian crises—from South Sudan to Syria— we remain committed to providing help in an emergency, regardless of danger or difficulty. It is one of the most profound expressions of who we are as the American people.

Today, the Saving Lives at Birth: A Grand Challenge for Development partners launched their fifth call for groundbreaking, sustainable innovations to save the lives of mothers and newborns in the hardest to reach corners of the world. The latest round is part of a $50 million program expansion to build upon and accelerate Saving Lives at Birth’s investment in innovative prevention and treatment ideas and approaches that aim to reduce infant and maternal mortality and prevent stillbirth around the time of birth.

The 2015 National Security Strategy, released today by President Obama, demonstrates that global development is a key pillar of our national security and prosperity. As the Strategy says, “the United States is safer and stronger when fewer people face destitution, when our trading partners are flourishing, and when societies are freer.”

Innovative, scalable solutions to impact children in developing countries

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), in partnership with World Vision and the Australian Government, announced today 14 grantees for the second call of All Children Reading: A Grand Challenge for Development. Innovators across the world were selected for their low-cost, technology-based solutions and programs that confront fundamental literacy issues and empower children to read.

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) today announced a partnership with Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Major League Baseball Players Association to promote education, address the needs of children with disabilities, and combat domestic violence in the Dominican Republic.

U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Rajiv Shah will deliver a keynote address at the Powering Africa Summit in Washington, D.C. Administrator Shah will discuss how President Obama's "Power Africa" initiative is helping to increase the number of people with access to power in sub-Saharan Africa.

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announced today that the U.S. Government will commit $1 billion over FY 2015-2018 to Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance, subject to Congressional approval. The U.S. contribution will support Gavi’s plan to immunize 300 million additional children and save at least 5 million lives by 2020. Providing new and underutilized vaccines to the world's poorest countries is a key driver in ending preventable child deaths by 2035.

President Barack Obama announced today in New Delhi a new partnership among the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Calvert Foundation and several private financial institutions in India to develop an Indian Diaspora Investment Initiative.

U.S. Agency for International Development Administrator Rajiv Shah will travel to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, January 21-23 to meet with leaders from government, business, and civil society. Administrator Shah's participation in WEF will focus on how partnering can boost development outcomes.

By 2050, the number of climate change refugees could reach 150 million people, 80 percent will be women and children. Women and girls comprise a majority of the world's 1.4 billion people who live below the poverty line, and are the most susceptible to the impact of climate change and the instability in disaster and crisis-prone countries.

Today, Deputy Assistant Administrator for African Affairs Linda Etim and Director of the Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives Mark Brinkmoeller are in South Sudan to meet with community leaders.

U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Rajiv Shah will visit Las Vegas, Los Angeles and San Francisco January 6 - 13. While in Nevada and California, Dr. Shah will participate in the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on January 6. He will continue on to California where he will meet with technology leaders and other innovators to discuss the use of science, technology, innovation, and partnerships to further USAID's development objectives around the world.

Today, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announced the award ofPartnership for Education: Learning, USAID's flagship education project in Ghana, to FHI 360, an international human development NGO. Through the Learning project, the American people are investing $71 million to support Ghana's educational institutions over five years to improve, expand, and sustain learning outcomes for at least 2.8 million primary students nationwide, with an emphasis on children in kindergarten through grade three.